Prefabricated house



April 7, 1953 D. EQHERVEY 2,633,610

PREFABRICATED 'HOUSE I Filed Aug. 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR D. E. HERVEY ATTORNEY April 7, 1953 D. E. HERVEY 2,633,610

' PREFABRICATEID HOUSE Filed Aug. 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG- 3 .367 3 23s 39; 4o 37 -......J I fi-jl I, FIG. 4 i i g i L .L J r ii: 6 I. HM-

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4 FIG. 5

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INVENTOR. D. E. HERVEY ATTORNEY April I, 1953 D. E. HERVEY PREFABRICATED HOUSE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 27, 1946 FIG IOA INVENTOR; D. E. HERVEY ATTORNEY April 7, 1953 D. E. HERVEY PREFABRICATED HOUSE Filed Aug. 27, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 13

INVENTOR. D. E. HERVEY ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 7, 1953 PREFABRICATED HOUSE David E. Hervey, Old Fort, N. 0., assignor to Hervey Foundation, Incorporated, a corporation of Maryland Application August 27, 1946, Serial No. 693,242 1 Claim. (01. 20 2 This invention relates to improvements in building construction and particularly to improved prefabricated houses and construction units therefor.

According to present practice in the construction of prefabricated houses certain types of standardized panels are provided for assembly according to any desired plan. Such standard types include wallpanels, partition panels, floor panels, window panels, door panels, plumbing panels, and, in some cases, roof panels. These standardized panels are all of comparatively small size, about four feet by eight feet, being conventional, and a number of them must be secured together to provide any vertical or horizontal surface of the house. As they can be connected only at their adjacent edges by such means as interlocking splines or lugs a wall or floor surface made up of these panels alone would have no actual rigidity and insufiicient truss strength to support itself and the panels of interconnected surfaces. It isjtherefore necessary in conventional practice to provide framing for at least certain portions of the house. Suitable floor and roof trusses are nearly always required to support the small floor and roof panels. In fact amount of skilled labor for the erection of the house. The size of available plywood or other suitable laminated material sheets has up to the present time imposed a definite limitation on the size of building panels that can be prefabricated.

In my copending allowed application Serial No. 693,243, filed August 2'7, 1946, for Press, I have disclosed suitable apparatus and a suitable method for producing laminated sheets of large size and for assembling such large size sheets with suitable framing to produce large truss panels.

In accordance with the present invention I purpose to construct each wall and partition of the house as a rigid, unitary, self-supporting panel and to provide floor and roof panels of such size that no auxiliary framing or trusses will be required.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved structural units for prefabricated buildings wherein each unit is self-sustaining and may constitute an entire wall or partition or floor or roof surface and in which the entire building is composed of a small number of prefabricated structural units that can be quickly assembled, disassembled and reassembled, with a small amount of labor and supported on a small number of widely spaced foundation members.

A further object resides in the provision of imof a size such that joint lines are not present in the surfaces of the assembled building.

A still further object resides in the provision of improved structural units for prefabricated buildings wherein the units have framed door and window openings and all necessary plumbing and electric conduits and complete insulation in place therein before the units are delivered for assembly. I s

An additional object resides in the; provision of improved connecting means for assembling prefabricated building units or panels whereby the various units or panels can be quickly and firmly secured together in a manner such that they can be disassembled without damage to the units if it should be desired to move or store the buildmg.

Anotherobject resides in the provisionof a low cost prefabricated building providing adequate spacing and of durable construction and attractive appearance.

Still another object resides in the provision of a basic housing unit that can be expanded into a larger housing unit having larger rooms or a of-the material of the basic unit. H

Yet another object resides in the provision of an improved prefabricated buildingutilizing the largest size panels that can be effectively handled by present transportation facilities. I p

Another object resides in the provision. of improved window construction for prefabricated buildings. v

Another object resides in the provision ofimproved insulating material. I

Another object resides in the provision of improved frame members constructed to resist digreater number of rooms without discarding any mensional changes incident to changes in mois- 'ture content.

Other objects and advantages will becomeapparent from the consideration of the following description and in conjunction with the-accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a typical house illustrative of the invention;

Fig. 2, a perspective view of a house having aplan such as is shown in Fig. 1, portions being broken away to better illustrate the construction thereof; 7

Fig. 3, an elevational view of astructural-unit constituting a wall member of the house with one of the plywood facings or covers omitted; 1

F ig. 4, an elevational view of the structural unit shown in Fig. 3 with the cover omitted in Fig. 3 applied and patterns indicated for window, door and other openings;

Fig. 5, a plan view of a structural element constituting a part of the roof, a portion being broken away to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Fig. 6, an elevational view of an end wall member of the house, a portion being broken away to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Fig. 7, a perspective view of a floor unit and a fragmentary portion of an adjoining wall unit showing the manner of making electrical conduit connections between the two members;

Fig. 8, an elevational view of a structural unit constituting an interior partition, a portion being broken away to better show the construction'of the roof;

Fig;. 9, an elevational view of a structural unit constituting a different interior partition with the partition member shown in Fig. 8 illustrated in cross section;

Fig. 10, an isometric projection of one part of the connecting device by means of which adjoining structural members are secured together;

Fig. 10a, an isometric view of the mating part or the connecting device;

Fig. 11, a detailed view showing the manner of securing a roof panel to an exterior wall panel;

Fig.12, a detailed view showing a manner of securing two roof panels together with the panels separated at their adjacent edges;

l3, aview similar to Fig. 12 showing the two roof panels drawn closely together and a "seal provided along the peakJof the roof;

4 Fig. 14, a detailed view showing the manner of securing the roof panels to an interior partition member;

Fig. 15, a detailed sectional view showing the manner of supporting the floor members from -the-wall members and of providing an electrical connection between a floor member and a wall member;

Fig. 16, an isometric view of a window constitu'ting a unit of the improved building.

With continued reference to the drawings and "particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the invention contemplates a basic housing unit which may, if

desired, be enlarged or expanded by the addi-- tion of structural members of a construction similar to those used for the basic unit without the necessity of discarding any of the material used-to constitute the basic unit. Various room arrangements may be designed and the arrangement shown in Fig. l is merely illustrative of a typical arrangement of the rooms-in a four room basic housing unit.

The unit comprises four outside wall members I, 2, 3, and 4, two floor members 5 and -1i; two roof members I and 8, a main interior partition member 9, and secondary partition members In, H, l2, I3, M, and [5.

The house as illustrated has a corner window in each corner thereof, as indicated at l6, l1, l8, and I9; and side windows indicated at 29, 2i,

and 22, and an outside door is provided at 23.

of spacial requirements set up by government agencies, such as the Federal Housing Administration and National Housing Agency, for housing units of this type. The illustrated unit provides a living room, a kitchen, two bedrooms BRI and BB2, a bath room BA, closets CI, C2 and C3, and a storage closet SC, all of adequate size for comfortable and convenient use.

The construction of the front wall unit or panel 3 is particularly illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. This structural unit has an interior frame comprising a plurality of longitudinal frame members 28, the upper three and the bottom one of which are continuous from one end of the panel to the other, the intermediate ones being disposed between the necessary window and door openings. Each window and door opening is completely surrounded by frame members, as indicated at 29 for the door opening and 30 for one of the corner Window openings and these opening frames are rigidly secured to adjacent longitudinal frame members. The entire frame structure is braced by suitable trusses, as indicated at 3|, 32, 33, and 36 so that'it may be supported only at its ends and will have sufiicient strength and rigidity to carry adjoining floor, roof and partition members without appreciable deflection. Continuous sheets 35 and 36 of laminated material, such as plywood, are applied one to each side of the frame and permanently bonded to the frame by suitable bonding material and also by fastening elements, such as nails or screws, if desired.

One of the facing or covering sheets, for examplc the outer sheet 33, has patterns on the openings marked thereon as indicated at 31, 38, 39 and 50 and after thepanel is completely assembled the openings are out out along these lines and the cut out portions are used for elements of the building so that there is no waste. For example, the portions cut out of the door openings are used for the doors and the portions cut out of the window openings may be used for shutters.

As stated above, the roof is provided by two structural units or panels, one of which is illus- "to the wall units of the building. Facings or coverings M and 45 of laminated material such as plywood are secured to the frame by bonding material and other-fastening means as may be desired and a sheet '45 of weather resisting material, such as sheet aluminum, is securely bonded to the outer surface of oneof the plywood covers. The metal sheet 46 projects outwardly beyond the frame and the plywood covers along all of the edges of the panel provide sufiicient material along the edges to be bent over to form a complete cover for the edges of the panel.

A typical end wall for the building is illustrated in Fig. 6. This wall has an internal frame of'longitudinal members 61 and truss bracings as indicated at 4 8 and 49, which provided sufficient strength and'rig idity'so that the end wall also can be; supported only at its ends and will support adjoining floor, roof and partition members without material deflection. The frame has a facing or covering of plywood on each side thereof secured to the frame bonding material, and additional fastening means if desired, the plywood coverings each constituting a single sheet as explained above in connection with Figs. sand 4. The window'and door openings are marked as indicated above and are cut out when the panel is completely formed. Each end and each top edge of the end panels are provided with a series of projecting hooks 50, 51, 52, and 53, which cooperate with slots provided along the ends of the side panels I and 3 to secure the side panels to the end panels and with slots provided in the roof panels to secure the roof panels to the end panels. The specific construction of suitable hooks and slots is illustrated in detail in Figs. and 10a.

Fig. '7 shows one of the two floor panels, for example the panel 5. These'panels are somewhat similar in general construction to the roof panels except that they lack a sheet metal facing. Their internal frame comprises a'pair of longitudinal edge members 54, a pair of end members 55, "and a plurality of parallel spaced transverse members56, which may be somewhat similar to the edge members. This frame is also covered on'bothsides by plywood facings 51 and 58. The inner facing 58 is made of comparatively heavy plywood. stock and may if desired be provided with asurface layer of weather resistant material. Both facings are continuous and are secured to the frame by bonding material and other fastening means if desired. This panel may contain one or more suitable supports as indicated at 59' for plumbing pipes or other elements and may also contain an electric conduit 60 terminating-in a plug member 6| engageable with'a mating plug member 62 in an adjoining wall-panel I, so that the electrical connections for the house can be made at the time the house is assembled. Suitable electric conduits are placed in all of the panels at the time the panels 'areassembled and connecting plugs are suitably located so that the house circuits will be automatically completed when the house is assembled.

, Fig. 8 illustrates the main interior partition member 9. This partition member has an internal frame comprising spaced parallel longitudinal members 63, vertical end members as indicated at 64, and truss bracing as indicated at B5 and 56, and on each side of theframe a facing or cover formed of acontinuous sheet of plywood 61 and 6B. This structural unit or panel 'also has su'flicient strength so that it can be supported at its ends from the adjoining wall panels and will support adjoining floor and sec- "ondary partition panels without material deflection. A series of hooks, asindicated at 69 and 10 are provided one seriesalong each end of the panel and one or more series of hook receiving slots, as indicated at 11 are provided in the "face of the "panel for the connection of the ends Lof secondary partition members thereto. Suitable door openings are framed in the framework of the panel and indicated on one of the face sheets at the time of assembly and one or more of which openings may be cut out to provide a door as desired. The cut out portion of the door opening maybe used for-the door in the manner'described above.- 1 w? a The secondary partition panel or unit is illustrated inFig. 9. This unit also has an internal frame comprising edge members as indicated at 12 and opposed parallel longitudinal members 13 and internal truss bracing 14 render the unit rigid and firm. The unit is provided with a door opening 15 in the manner indicated above and is provided along each edge with a series of hooks as indicated at 16 and 11. It will be noted that the hooks 16 are inverted, the reason for which will become apparent from the following description of the manner of assemblying the units to construct the house.

The hook slots, as illustrated in Fig. 10 and indicated at 18, are provided as spaced apertures in the web portion of a channel shaped member 19, which may conveniently be formed from sheet steel stock. Theframe member provided within the panel at the location of the hook receiving slots is provided with grooves or saw cuts which receive the flanges 81 and 82 of the channel shaped member19 and is provided between these saw cuts with a'groove 83 of a width and depth suflicient to receive the hooks thereon. The panel is grooved along each side of the member 19 and sealing members or gaskets 84 and 85 are seated respectively in these grooves to provide a tight joint between the connected structural units when they are forced together by the association of the hooks with the corresponding slots 18. The member 19 is rigidly secured in place in the panel by suitable means, such as pins 86 extended through the panel frame member and through the flanges BI and 82 of the channel shaped member 19.

The hooks, as illustrated in Fig. 10a, are struck up from the web portion of achannel shaped member 81 similar to the member 19, the flanges 83 and 89 of which are received in saw cuts provided in the edge portion of the panel frame member 90. The hooks 9| have slightly tapered surfaces engaging the portions of the member 19 between the hook receiving slots so that the weigh-t of the hook carried wall will serve to continuously press this wall against the connected wall in which the hook receiving slots are provided. The member81 is also secured in place by suitable screw pins, as indicated at 92.

When the house is to be assembled the foundation posts 24, 25, 26 and 21 are set and levelled. The end walls 2 and 4 are then placed on the corresponding corner posts in a substantially ver- .tical position. The main partition member 9 is then brought into position between the end walls and while elevated a slight distance above its final position the hooks on the ends of the par-tition areinserted in corresponding apertures provided in the inner faces of the end Walls 2 and 4. Thepartition member 9 is then dropped causing the hooks to pull the end walls. tightly against the center partition member. Floor panels 5 and 6 are then placed in position and rest at their edges on the upper surfaces of inwardly directed flange portions of angle irons, as indicated at 93 in Figs. 7 and 15 secured along the bottom edges 65 placed in position and connected at their corresponding ends to the main partition panel and. the end wall panels. The ends of the end walls at the same side of the house will then be slightly elevated above their position of rest on the corresponding-foundation posts and the corresponding side panel placed in position so that the beireceivedtini corresponding hook receiving slots provided-near the ends "of the side panel and the inverted hooks 16 on the secondary partition panel connected to'this'side panel "will be received in corresponding hook receiving apertures providedin the rearface of the side panel. When all of the hooks are in position in the corresponding hook receiving-slota'the ends of the end walls are lowered and the weight'of the end walls and other'elements associated therewith will force the hooks into the slots in a manner to force the side wall firmly against theends of the end walls and the secondary partition or partitions associated therewith. As the side Wall is also provided with a floor panel supporting angle iron along the bottom edge thereof it will, of course, be necessary to raise the end wall ends sufficiently to insert the inwardly direct flange of this angle iron under the corresponding edge of the-adjoining floor panel and when the end walls are lowered the floor panel will raise at all of its edges on angle iron flanges carried by the adjoining end walls. main partition wallrand side wall.

The other side wall is connected to the associated panels in the-same manner and the house will then be complete except for the application of the roof panels thereto.

The-roof panels are placed in position such that hooks on the upper edges of the end walls and secondary :partition members extend into corresponding hook receiving slots provided in the inner faces of the roof panels. When in this position thereof panels will be'separated at their adjoining edges along. the peak of the roof as indicated at 94 in Fig. 12.

Along the top edge of themain partition member '9 there isprovided a series of spaced apart T-shaped members as indicated at 95 in Fig. 14, the stems of which are screw. threaded and threaded into holes provided in the upper edge frame member of the partition member and the bar of which extends transversely through the partition member and has its opposite end portions 96 and 91 received in suitable apertures provided in the adjacent frame members of the opposite roof panels 98 and 99. The roof members 98 and 99 are also provided with spaced apertures which may, if desired, be internally screw threaded. These apertures are arranged so that an aperture in one roof panel registers with a corresponding aperture in the opposite roof panel and connecting members I are threaded into these registering apertures. Each connecting member hasoppositely screw threaded end portions and a wrench receiving intermediate portion and after being threaded into the registering apertures is turned by a wrench to pull the two roof panels together to the condition illustrated in Fig. 13. Suitable 'cut outs 'IIlI are provided in the roof panels adjacent the apertures receiving the connecting members lflIl to permit manipulation of a wrench to tighten the members until the roof panels have been brought firmly together. Pulling the roof panels by the members I!!!) moves the hook receiving slots in the panels relative to the hooks carried on the upper edges of the end walls and the secondary partition members to force the roof panels tightly down against the upper edges of these wall and partition members'and also forces the T-shaped members 85 into the apertures in the frame members 98 and99 so that the roof panels are firmly connected to all of the partition walls and the end walls of the building.

After the roof panels have been brought firmly together, as illustrated in Fig. .13, projecting edge portions [02 and I03 of the sheet metal coverings are folded together and cemented firmly down to form a seal as indicated at I04 in Fig. 13, which effectively prevents the entry of any moisture between theadjoining faces of the two roof panels.

Subsequently connecting members I05 are threaded into registering apertures in the roof panels and the corresponding side wall panels, to :pull theroof panelsflrmly down upon the top edges of the side wall members to seal these joints and further reinforce the building. The joints between all of the panels are sealed by suitable gaskets as indicated at 84 and in Fig. IO-so that the joints are air and moisture proof when the building is completely assembled. The floor panels rest upon suitable resilient gaskets I05, Fig. 15, carried bythe supporting angle iron flanges so thatthe floor. joints are alsocompletely sealed.

In Fig. 11 there is illustrated a suitable roof gutter for'association with the novel roof panels described above. In this construction the extending edge of the sheet metal cover 46 is bent over the edge of the panel and extended downwardly below the panel as indicated at I01 and may be braced against the panel by suitable tabs I08 if desired. A curved gutter or trough I09 is then secured to the under surface of the panel, as indicated at III), and has itsfree edge I II below the'upper surface of thepaneland is slightly spaced from the downwardly projecting portion I0'I 0f the sheet metal cover. The relationship of the-edge III to the cover portion IllI is such that, while water will flow downwardly along the roof panel and the portion I01 and into the gutter, debris, such as leaves, will not enter the gutter but will fall outside of the edge III and the gutter will thus not becomechoked by debris washed into it from the roof.

After the main structural units of the building have been assembled, as described above, the window openings and the exterior door opening are lined with suitable frames and the corners of the building are covered with corner beads. These window and door frames and corner beads are preferably formed of lengths of extruded aluminum and are especially designed for the particular openings with which they are associated.

A special type of window for the improved housing unit is illustrated in Fig. 16. While this window is specially designed for use as a bathroom window, it may be used in other locations if desired.

In this-construction a frame is provided having suitable edge members as indicated at I21 and me and internal members I29, I39, I3I and 32. The members I29 and I30 are parallel and spaced from each other and from the parallel edge members at substantially equal distances and the members l3I and I32 are perpendicular to the members 129 and I30 and spaced equal distances from each other and the corresponding parallel edge members. This provides a window having nine comparatively small panes. Parallel spaced panes are placed in each opening one at each side thereof and are sealed in place and the spaces between the panes are filled with a suitable transluscent insulating material. Crumpled cellophane or fiber glass has been found to be particularly suited for this purpose. Preferably the center pane I33 is provided with a-mirror surface so that it can be used as an indirectly illuminated mirror when desired.

While the interiors of thestructural units or panels will be sealed as perfectly as possible against the entrance of moisture and the frames will also be protected to some extent against temperature changes, it is desirable that the frame members should not be subject to any substantially hygroscopic expansion effects and that they should be as strong as possible so that they can be made of minimum size.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A prefabricated building comprising prefabricated end and side wall panels having connecting means adjacent their outer edges, a prefabricated intermediate panel extending between said end walls and forming a partition, said intermediate and end panels having connecting means on their contiguous surfaces, prefabricated roof panels having connecting means along the portions abutting the upper edges of said side and end panels and meeting along adjoining edges positioned directly above the upper edge of said intermediate panel, and means connecting said adjoining edges and the upper edge of said intermediate panel comprising T-shaped elements secured in said upper edge and having their opposed arms engaging said adjoining edges and oppositely threaded elements engaging and drawing together said roof panels.

DAVID E. HERVEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 583,594 Ewen June 1, 1897 1,352,991 Roure Sept. 14, 1920 1,428,405 Wegener Sept. 5, 1922 1,619,101 Chase 1 Mar. 1, 1927 1,622,962 Michod Mar. 24, 1927 1,661,482 Kuhne- Mar. 6, 1928 1,825,195 McAvoy et al Sept. 29, 1931 1,925,769 McAvoy et al Sept. 5, 1933 1,955,833 Romanofi Apr. 24, 1934 1,984,666 Warren Dec. 18, 1934 2,029,352 Beckwith Feb. 4, 1936 2,112,474 Warren Mar. 29, 1938 2,118,048 Landsem May 24, 1938 2,132,217 Neundorf Oct. 4, 1938 2,142,388 Wallace Jan. 3, 1939 2,166,926 Kropp July 18, 1939 2,293,483 Allenby Aug. 18, 1942 2,303,125 Knight Nov. 24, 1942 2,325,055 Heritage July 27, 1943 2,332,732 Laucks Oct. 26, 1943 2,375,910 Forward May 15, 1945 2,379,194 Shonts et a1 June 26, 1945 2,396,829 Carpenter Mar. 19, 1946* 2,410,221 Latura Oct. 29, 1946 2,430,961 Sprunger Nov. 18, 1947 2,433,456 Jansen Dec. 30, 1947 2,498,411 Geib Feb. 21, 1950- 

